According to biographer Mitsutoshi Inaba "the song subject is the consequences of adultery and the feeling that a man cannot give up a relationship":[2] I can't quit you, baby But I've got to put you down for awhile You know I can't quit you, baby But I've got to put you down for awhile Well, you messed up my happy home, babe Made me mistreat my only child[3] In his autobiography, Willie Dixon explained that "I Can't Quit You Baby" was written about a relationship Rush was preoccupied with at the time; Dixon used this to draw out an impassioned performance by Rush.

[2]Inaba added: "Otis' passionate vocal melody with alternations of natural voice, falsetto, shouts, and growls, is his singing style indeed".

[5] "I Can't Quit You Baby" was a vehicle for arranger-producer Dixon to launch Rush and Cobra Records, as it was the first single for both.

[11] According to music journalist Cub Koda, their rendition is "a note-for-note copy of Otis Rush's" 1966 Vanguard version,[12] although with different instrumentation and dynamics.

Although biographer Keith Shadwick notes Page's fluff on the turnaround coming out of the solo, he concludes the song "ends up as one of the most successful pieces on the first album, with no flat spots and a perfectly symmetrical form, all within the classic blues tradition".

[14] The song was rehearsed by the surviving members of Led Zeppelin for the May 14, 1988, Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Celebration, but was not performed during the event.

"[15] According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:[10] "I Can't Quit You Baby" is a blues standard[1] that has been recorded by more than 30 artists.